Storm
by drop-in-the-ocean
Summary: The team gets caught by the GSA, and the only way to free them is for Adam to make a dangerous exchange...
1. Interrupted

Sweat glistened on the back of Shalimar's neck as she delivered a final blow to the holographic GSA agent. With a sigh, she walked over to her water bottle. GSA activity had been scarce in the past week, so she had been burning her pent-up energy in the stimulator. However, it definitely lacked having a real opponent. Without a living, breathing opponent, who was capable of emanating real fear and determination, her feral abilities were just not satisfied. The holograms lacked the thrill she was seeking.  
  
While those thoughts were spinning through her head, she squirted some water into her dry mouth, and turned to face the stairs. In doing so, she smirked as Brennan rounded the corner.  
  
"Hey, Bren!" She yelled.  
  
"Hey Shal," he replied in passing, hoping that was the end of the conversation. He definitely didn't want to be suckered into another fight against her. He'd learnt earlier that a bored feral with lots of energy was a deadly combination.  
  
"Whatcha doin'?" She asked with a smirk, blocking his path.  
  
"Nothing. And I intend to keep it that way," he replied.  
  
"Awe, c'mon Bren. Ten minutes, that's all I'm asking."  
  
"No."  
  
"I promise I'll go easy on ya." She grinned mischievously.  
  
That did it. Brennan couldn't resist the look on her face, and broke out into an equally mischievous grin. "And who says I need you to go easy, eh?" He jogged up the stairs to the stimulator, with Shalimar on his heels.  
  
He took off his shoes so that he was standing with bare feet on the platform, parallel to Shalimar. Crouching into a stance, she began to circle him. Both waited for the first move, until Shal came at him with multiple punches, each one blocked by Brennan. She switched to a jump- kick, which surprised Brennan and left him stumbling backwards. Taking advantage of this, she launched at him again, only to find Brennan grabbing her by the waist and pulling her to the ground. They rolled furiously, each trying to get the upper hand on the other, when finally Brennan got in a sturdy position on top of Shal, straddling her hips. His weight was too much for her to throw off, so she stopped struggling.  
  
"Looks like you're in quite the predicament, Ms. Fox," Brennan said slyly.  
  
"All part of the plan." she replied.  
  
"Oh really?" He drew his arm back as if to deliver painful blow to the trapped girl below him. Shalimar's eyes glinted with confusion for a second, before Brennan's arm came down - and started tickling her relentlessly.  
  
"Brenn.an.st-stop!!!" She attempted to yell between desperate gasps for air. Squirming beneath him, her face started to flush from lack of oxygen.  
  
"Is that an order?" Brennan asked, enjoying the situation. "I think you can ask more politely."  
  
"Pl.Please!" She managed to get out.  
  
He stopped, letting a huge smile cross his face. He remained on top of her, while she regained her breath.  
  
"You are *so* gonna pay for that," she said, staring him straight in the eyes. Instead of uttering a witty comeback, Brennan just stared back at her. He whipped a stray strand of golden tresses from her face, and leaned in, engulfing her lips in a passionate kiss.  
  
"I love you," he whispered.  
  
"I love you too.but don't even think that'll keep you safe from the payback you've got coming!"  
  
Before Brennan had a chance to reply, Adam's voice came over their comlinks.  
  
"Shalimar, Brennan, I need you guys to meet me in the lab."  
  
"Be right over, Adam." Brennan replied.  
  
**Lab**  
  
Brennan and Shalimar arrived at the lab, to see Jesse and Emma already there.  
  
"What's up?" Shal asked.  
  
"Well, according to preliminary reports from Proxy Blue, it appears that Eckhart is up to something. Several new mutants have been reported missing in the past 48 hours - 3, to be exact. And witnesses have claimed seeing people that fit their description near a warehouse over on Markham Road."  
  
Jesse pulled up a 3-D map of the area around the warehouse, and started a 360 degrees outline of the building.  
  
"Now, this building was recently bought by Tricom, which is an affiliate of the GSA. I'm not sure what it all means, which is why I'd like you guys to check it out."  
  
"No problem, Adam," Shalimar replied. She was glad she'd finally get away from Sanctuary, and back into action.  
  
"Not so fast. This is strictly undercover. I do not want you to be seen by anyone at the warehouse, simply scan it for anything that may look suspicious." He pulled up three photos on the screen. "These are our missing new mutants. Each of them had been in the underground, until this occurred. Any questions?" They shook their heads. "Good. Now get going. And be careful!" 


	2. Trap

(in the Double Helix)  
  
"You know what I could really go for right now?" Said Emma.  
  
"What?" Jesse asked.  
  
"A Nanaimo bar," she replied, with a twinkle in her eye. "I haven't had one since I was a kid. Those things were delicious." She smiled, remembering the sweet taste.  
  
"Ok.any particular reason you're having this craving now? On the way to a stakeout and all?"  
  
"I don't know. Does it matter?"  
  
"That depends. If it was a natural hunger triggered by something that sparked either your stomach or your memories of childhood, then no. If, however, it was do to one of the glands in your brain misfiring and sputtering nonsense into you, then you may be going crazy. And if you are in fact mentally unstable, I, personally, would like to know before we start this mission," Jesse finished, with a strong hint of sarcasm in his voice.  
  
"Biologically, what you just said didn't make sense at all," Emma replied.  
  
"Made more sense than you do!"  
  
Emma rolled her eyes, and smacked the back of his head playfully.  
  
"Ow! That hurt!" Jesse said, faking a hurt tone.  
  
"Good!" She replied.  
  
"Guys, if you want to stop flirting for a brief moment, I suggest getting ready. We'll land in a couple of minutes," Brennan called from the pilot's seat.  
  
The four team members appeared out of thin air, with the Helix in stealth mode.  
  
"Shal and Jess, you guys take the front. Emma and I will check out around back, and we'll regroup at the East side of the building." Brennan said. He pulled Shalimar aside just as they started heading off, and said "Remember, we're just *looking* for anything suspicious. Please don't go all kick-ass on these poor guys unless there's a good reason, ok?"  
  
"No promises," she smiled, "but you be careful too, ok?" With that, she went to join Jesse.  
  
"Ok Jess, you go first. I got your back," Shalimar told him, and stopped walking in order to let him get a few paces ahead. While waiting, she crept over to one of the windows in the old warehouse. It was covered with years of dirt and grime, and several bullet holes pierced through the top. "Charming neighbourhood," she mumbled.  
  
Glancing back to Shalimar, Jesse continued going forward, keeping his eyes peeled for any sign of the missing new mutants. There was, however, no sign of them. Or of anything, for that matter. The abandoned warehouse looked like exactly that - an abandoned warehouse. Strange, Jesse thought.  
  
Shalimar continued peering into the window, trying to make out anything distinguishable. She moved forward to the next window, keeping an eye on Jesse, who was about 30 paces in front of her. Looking inside again, she let her feral sight take over. Out of her peripheral vision, she saw a slight movement, inside the building but to her very left. She couldn't quite make out what she was seeing, so she went to the next window. What she saw made her heart skip a beat. On the other side, she could she a man aiming some type of weapon directly towards Emma and Brennan, whom she could see through a window on the other side of the building.  
  
"Brennan, Emma, get down!" She yelled through her comlink. Jesse turned back to Shalimar, hearing her yell out, just as she took a few steps backwards, and then did a front flip into the building through the window, sending tiny pieces of shatter glass everywhere.  
  
Shalimar landed hard on her feet. She started running towards Brennan and Emma's culprit, just as Jesse phased through the wall.  
  
"Shalimar, Jesse, talk to me!" Brennan yelled through the comlink, while he and Emma ran to take cover behind a pile of crates.  
  
Jesse was about to reply, when two agents appeared from behind him, with more showing up throughout the warehouse. "It's a trap!" He yelled in his comlink, while getting into a fighting stance to take on his attackers.  
  
Shalimar sprinted over to the man by the window, just as he fired his weapon towards the crates. However, rather than a bullet shooting out, streams of electricity made a beeline from the gun.  
  
"Emma, get down!" Brennan yelled. Without thinking, he shot his own electricity to meet them, which resulted in a slight outburst of energy similar to a lightening bolt forming. Luckily, the bolt did not reach the crates, or the people behind them.  
  
"Well, that was different," Emma observed quietly.  
  
After shooting the crates, the agent turned around to face Shalimar. She flipped over him towards the window, placing herself between him and her teammates, should he wish to fire again. As she landing, she was met with a dropkick, which she returned to him with one of her own.  
  
As one of the agents ran towards Jesse, he phased out which resulted in him tumbling to the ground, just as another agent behind him ran into Jesse hard, as he had quickly changed from air to solid mass. The blow knocked the agent unconscious, and Jesse turned to the one behind him, just in time to land a kick to his head before he got up. Rendering him unconscious as well, Jesse started running towards Shalimar.  
  
She attempting to punch the agent, but he caught her fist and spun her around towards the wall. Quickly, she ran up the wall, flipped over him, and landed a spine-crunching blow to his back, sending him painfully forward into the wall.  
  
Just as she finished, Brennan and Emma rounded the corner into the building.  
  
"What just happened? Are you two alright?" Emma asked, her voice laden with concern and confusion.  
  
"We're fine. Just found ourselves a couple of agents, that's all," Jesse replied.  
  
"Shal, you're hurt!" Brennan blurted out.  
  
"What?" Shalimar then glanced to her throbbing shoulder. "Oh.I didn't even notice." There was a shard of glass embedded in her shoulder, with trails of blood streaming from it down her arm and torso.  
  
"Should we try to remove it?" Jesse asked.  
  
"No, leave it in. Let's get her back to sanctuary." Emma replied. She knew that all the blood couldn't bee coming from a slice of glass as small as that one appeared. That meant that it was in fact a rather large piece, with only the tip of it showing. This realization made Emma shudder, and she felt her stomach know with concern for her friend.  
  
"Hey, don't worry. I'm fine," Shal said with a smile, noticing Emma's worried look.  
  
They started heading out of the warehouse. Once they exited the door, however, they were faced with well over two-dozen agents. Since none of them carried weapons, however, it was obvious that these agents were new mutants. Offensive new mutants.  
  
Seeing how greatly outnumbered they were, they turned around, only to be met with a dozen agents behind them as well, blocking any exit.  
  
"Do yourselves a favour and don't bother trying to fight," said one of the agents, who seemed to be in charge. "It might turn in a somewhat - messy - situation."  
  
Being severely outnumbered, in an unfamiliar environment, and with probably the best fighter of them all being currently injured, Brennan decided it was best to give in, at least for now.  
  
"All right, take it easy," Brennan replied, gesturing with his hands raised a little that they would fight.  
  
"Brennan?" Jesse was somewhat startled. "What are you doing?"  
  
"It'll be-" Brennan stopped has he saw Shalimar waver slightly on her feet, and caught her just before she fell to the ground. "Shal?" He said gently, holding on to her head. Her eyes fluttered as she fought to keep conscious.  
  
This was the distraction the agents needed. Quickly they stormed forward, taking the team and inserting sub dermal governors into the back of each of their necks.  
  
"Now, hand me those nifty rings of yours," the agent ordered them, and one by one collected the comlinks.  
  
A/N ( Thanx dudes for the reviews! =D 


	3. Tip of the Iceberg

Shalimar awoke feeling overwhelming groggy. She could hear voices.familiar voices.they seemed so near, yet so distant. Without moving, she tried to concentrate and decipher what they were saying.  
  
"That doesn't make any sense though. She's a feral.it should take more than this shoulder wound to render her unconscious." Brennan stated, while looking at Emma with concern.  
  
They had been brought to a small, dark room, with an almost dungeon-like appearance. There were bars along one side, and old stones covering the remaining three walls. No windows.minimal air circulation.Jesse hated the trapped feeling he had right now.  
  
"I can't figure it out either, but we can figure that out later. Right now we have to figure out how to help her," Emma told Brennan. "We have two options: the first being that we remove the glass from her shoulder. However, that would result in heavy bleeding, and we don't have anything sterile to stop it. Second, we could leave the glass in, and wait until we're back in the lab with the proper tools needed to extract it. But, we have no idea of when that could be, and in the meantime it would cause her a lot of discomfort and further damage if she tried to move her shoulder."  
  
When she finished, she looked expectantly at Brennan, as did Jesse. He lowered his head and sighed, rubbing his temples. He sure as hell didn't want to be the one to make this decision.  
  
Jesse gave Brennan's shoulder his squeeze. "What do you think?"  
  
Before he could answer, Shalimar whispered "take it out."  
  
"Shal?" Jesse asked, "You ok?"  
  
Her mouth curved to form a small smile. "Yeah Jess, I'm great."  
  
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Brennan asked. She nodded, and looked up to Emma.  
  
"I've never done this before Shal, and I don't know how it's going to work," Emma stated nervously. "I almost wish you'd have stayed unconscious."  
  
"I trust you Emma," Shalimar replied. "Just try not to take the arm," she joked.  
  
Emma let loose a small laugh, before turning dead serious again. "I'm going to need you guys to hold her down, just in case," she told them.  
  
Jesse positioned himself beside Shalimar, across from Emma, while Brennan made his way behind her head, placing it in his lap. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead, and whispered "I love you" in her ear before sitting back up. Seen as how she had stayed the cleanest during the earlier fight, Emma removed her button-down shirt so that only her tank top remained, and placed it aside. She waited a couple of seconds before continuing; silently wishing that Adam would arrive to save the day before she had to go through with this.  
  
"Ok Em, let's do this before I go changing my mind," Shalimar said, only half joking.  
  
She nodded, and gave a reassuring smile to her patient. She placed her fingers on the little tip of glass that remained visible, and tried to get a good grip, which was difficult to do because of all the blood that now coated it. Satisfied, she gave a last glance to Shalimar, whose eyes were closed and breathing was accelerated.  
  
"Ok. One.two.three," and on three, she pulled directly vertical with all her might. The sound of ripping flesh and gurgling blood was enough to make Jesse nauseous. Shalimar screamed and arched her back violently.  
  
"It's ok Shal, it's over. Just breathe," Brennan said in a soothing voice. Tiny beads of perspiration now covered her clear honey skin, and her eyes were squeezed shut.  
  
Emma quickly reached for her shirt and placed it over the wound, hoping to stop the daunting blood flow. Jesse reached for Shalimar's hand, and in doing so, realized that she was trembling all over. She whimpered quietly, and Jesse grabbed his jacket to place over her.  
  
"Shalimar? Are you ok?" Emma asked, but before she could answer, blackness claimed her and she slipped gratefully into the reverie of unconsciousness. 


End file.
